There
has been a political 'catch-22' for some time over a want/need to accommodate
the party's 'leadership' and the empirical realities of right vs. wrong.

The
Bush administration (which has done a lot of 'right' stuff and demonstrated
uncommon 'courage') is suffering self-inflicted wounds, which are a direct
function of hubris and success morphed with denial and failure. The danger
is that in a myopic effort to defend the indefensible and justify the
jerky, they now face some very real negative consequences.

The
Post writes, " President Bush's troubles with congressional Republicans,
which erupted during the backlash to the Dubai seaport deal, are rooted
in policy frustrations and personal resentments that GOP lawmakers say
stretch back to the opening days of the administration."

However,
there were Scribean foreshadows preceding the Dubai debacle.

The Harriet Meirs mess

No Child Left Behind

Prescription drug benefits under Medicare

Immigration ineptitude

There
has been an underpinning of ‘my way or the highway’…grousing about an
‘Imperial Executive Branch’ and the conflict of supporting the ‘team’
despite the unilateral, insulated arrogance of the team captain.

Bob
Novak made some interesting observations on this conflict that
merit attention. When guys like Henry Hyde and Jerry Lewis on the
Rules committee are comfortable flipping off the President, something
is seriously broken.

There
are inherent advantages and disadvantages of being a second term presidency.
The upside (which may engender avoidable arrogance) is the knowledge you
don’t have to suffer through another election cycle. The need to accommodate
or even pander to the electorate is gone…kinda. This is (or should/could
be) the time to get busy and get stuff done.

However,
the very ‘freedom’ enjoyed by second term presidents is mitigated by the
reality and angst of the congressional caucus that DOES have to run for
reelection.

Payback
and blowback are very real dangers, and the realities are now acknowledging
the elephant in the living room. The Post observes, “…many lawmakers felt
under appreciated, ignored and sometimes bullied by what they regarded
as a White House intent on running government with little input from them…”
In other words, the administration has corrupted the ‘Golden Rule’: the
guy with the gold makes the rules.

The
International Herald Tribune’s William Pfaff comments on the new Bush
‘National
Security Strategy’ statement by calling it “a lumpy stew of discredited
neoconservative idea with some neo-Kissingerian geopolitics now mixed
in.” The Herald’s harping is significant for the parallels with GOP angst
over ‘their guy’.

GOP
Senator Lindsey Graham (who is guilty of his own sins of hubris) has articulated
the ubiquitous gripe about the current administration of being “non-responsive
and arrogant,”. That is an interesting turn of phrase given many feel
Congress (and specifically the Senate) is guilty of being “non-responsive
and arrogant”. But Graham is right to acknowledge that the Bush/GOP tension
is not an event but a process. “There are a thousand small cuts,” he said,
that are ignored when things are cool, but “rear their heads when things
are not going well.” And right now…things are not going well.

Karl
Rove has to smell the coffee…when Sen. Norm Coleman (a hard core, knuckle
dragging Bush supporter) disses the administration for having what he
called a political ‘tin ear’, that has to hurt….ouch!

There
has been some mumbling about bringing in some new high-end staffers but
the ‘problem’ isn’t with overworked insanely dedicated true believers.
The problem (and problems) is a direct function of the executive leadership.

It ain’t
over ‘til it’s over, and the situation can (and should) be fixed.

FM22-100
(Army Leadership manual) used to say, “Leaders are responsible for the
welfare, discipline and tactical deployment of the troops”. It appears
this administration has been so focused on discipline and tactical deployment
that they have neglected to care for the “welfare” of the troops (Congress),
and the negative consequences are obvious.

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Reportedly,
Bush has already held more nose-to-nose meetings with legislators that
previously. He has recently (even before the Dubai port disaster) been
meeting with House and Senate members individually (even Democrats).

Bush
may not ever have to run for any office again, but those GOP ‘troops’
he has used (and misused) do have to face an increasingly ticked off electorate.

"Geoff Metcalf is a nationally syndicated radio
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